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Wrestling / Defiant Wrestling
aka: Whatculture Pro Wrestling

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/defiant_wrestling.jpg

"We... are Defiant!"
— Stu Bennett, general manager

Defiant Wrestling (formerly known as WhatCulture Pro Wrestling) was a Professional Wrestling promotion based in Newcastle, England. The promotion started as WCPW on May 25th, 2016, as a brainchild of indiviuals working with the WhatCulture Wrestling Youtube channel, but eventually it grew to be its own entity, with plenty of mainstream wrestling main event stars appearing either as performers or hosts. The promotion was first promoted and managed on-screen by WhatCulture's Adam Pacitti and Adam Blampied, but underwent a name change in the latter part of 2017. After December 2017, Defiant held little to no relationship with the WhatCulture Wrestling channel (aside from WC promoting Defiant shows and Simon Miller's presence).

The promotion featured free weekly shows on Youtube, as well as regular pay per views. During its tenure as WCPW it had a weekly show, WCPW Loaded, which streamed every Saturday. After the name change, the weekly show streamed every Friday and was simply called Defiant. The promotion's biggest event was the Pro Wrestling World Cup in 2017. With some support from New Japan Pro-Wrestling and its British partner Revolution Pro Wrestling, WCPW held a 65 man, 15 country single elimination tournament that lasted 6 months and aired from February 21 to August 26, 2017. The World Cup's participants matches and results can be found on the promotion's Fandom page. The World Cup's winner was KUSHIDA, representing Japan. The full tournament is also available for free on the Youtube channel.

The first iPPV event of the new brand was called #WeAreDefiant and was held on Newcastle Upon Tyne on December 4th, 2017. Former WWE wrestler Stu Bennett became the General Manager with the name change until Defiant No Regrets, when he was succeeded by the newly-retired WCPW wrestler Primate. The last weekly show under that name was aired before the Defiant No Regrets PPV. Afterwards, the show rebranded again, with the Loaded shows being brought back as Defiant Loaded on December 2018. With the name change came another replacement, as Primate was ready to return to the ring, and fellow WCPW regular feature (manager) Prince Ameen took on the role of "General Ameen".

On August 1st, 2019, the promotion called it quits after its last iPPV, Built to Destroy 2019, aired on June 29, 2019 prior, and one week after the show was released for free on Youtube, bringing a final hurrah to where it all began.

The promotion held 5 titles of its own, with other promotions' titles being defended within it as well. The final champions are:

WE... are the tropes:

  • Aborted Arc:
    • Zack Sabre Jr.'s had to drop the Internet Title three days prior to Defiant Chain Reaction due to his inability to defend it because of his schedule in NJPW, PROGRESS, PWG, Evolve and other federations around the world. This was solved with a fatal four-way match at Defiant #10.
    • Due to both injury and the promotion closing, Lucky Kid attempting to get a restraining order against General Ameen went completely unmentioned when he returned for the abovementioned Built to Destroy 2019.
    • Any storylines developing from the abovementioned Built to Destroy 2019, especially Rory Coyle's Wrestling's Redemption stable, due to the promotion closing.
  • Absurdly High-Stakes Game: The apt-named "Winner takes all Ten man Elimination match" at Defiant Chain reaction: five IPW guys against five Defiant guys. If Team IPW wins, Defiant is dead and gone. If Team Defiant wins, the invasion is over. Team Defiant won.
  • A Taste of Defeat: Defiant has been on the beating end in the IPW invasion, but every once in a while a good thing happens:
    • At Defiant #4 Primate defeated Chris Ridgeway, preventing the IPW side to get the Hardcore championship.
    • Xia Brookside had a hard time at the women's division, especially in Defiant #7 where she lost the chance to become the #1 contender at the hands of Millie McKenzie.
    • At Defiant #8 B.T. Gunn and Joe Coffey defeated Aussie Open.
    • Defiant #9 had two weakened Jimmy Havoc and Primate (who just had their Hardcore Championship match an hour ago) against Chris Ridgeway and Mark Haskins. Jimmy brought a hatchet to the ring, prompting the IPW roster reacting and beating Havoc and Primate in order to save Ridgeway and Haskins, and then Kirby, Coffey and BT Gunn coming to the aid of Havoc and Primate, leading everything to a "no contest".
  • Attack Its Weak Point: During Drake vs. Mike Bailey at Defiant #3, "Speedball" entered to the ring with a leg injury which was seized by the former during the entirety of the match. The scene was repeated at Defiant #5. In both cases, Bailey overcame the odds and managed to defeat Drake, although the victory at #3 was by DQ.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: IPW takes control of Defiant at the end of Defiant #6.
  • Bait-and-Switch: The promo before The Prestige vs. Joe Coffey at Defiant #6 had Martin Kirby (who had an extremely important task that day) talking with Coffey. Coffey's speech before the match gave the sensation that Kirby would put double duty that day, but it turns out that Travis Banks was Coffey's teammate.
  • Becoming the Mask: A segment from Defiant Refuse To Lose has "No Fun" Damian Dunne and his partner "Los Federales Santos Sr." managing to successfully convince gimmick-hater HT Drake to join their stable on the grounds that gimmicks are fun, and that both hate gimmicks and fun.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Defiant #1 has Travis Banks winning his match against David Starr, only for Travis's former teammates of The Prestige, El Ligero and Joe Hendry, coming to attack the Kiwi Buzzsaw. Ligero and Hendry even invite Starr to do the finishing hit while lights turns out... and Banks' companions from CCK enter the fray to help him.
    • Defiant #4 had Zack Gibson crushing "Flash" Morgan Webster and asking for a bigger challenge. Cue Rampage Brown's music.
    • Joe Hendry and El Ligero became Big Damn Villains during Austin Aries vs. Travis Banks at Defiant #5, as they managed to exploit Banks's Revenge Before Reason, giving Aries the chance to pin him and keep the Defiant World Title.
    • At Defiant #9, Jimmy Havoc and Primate were being obliterated by the IPW roster (they were supposed to fight for the Defiant Tag Team belts with Chris Ridgeway & Mark Haskins). Cue the appearance of Martin Kirby, BT Gunn and Joe Coffey to repel the invaders and save Havoc and Primate.
    • Rampage is the fifth man on Team Defiant for Defiant Chain Reaction and he ends up saving Defiant by scoring the winning pin.
  • Book Ends: Built to Destroy was the first and last special event of the promotion.
  • Breaking the Fellowship: Austin Aries's "Weakest Link" promo at Defiant #10 caused the disbandment of the IPW team, with three of its members joining the Defiant ranks.
  • The Cameo:
  • Charlie Brown from Outta Town: After being banned from WCPW, Prospect reappeared at WCPW Loaded #8 as a Masked Luchador team called "Los Perspectiva" composed by El Drako (Drake), Lucha Archer (Lucas Archer), and El Hijo de Gracie (Alex Gracie)... still managed by James R. Kennedy.
  • Couch Gag: The disclaimer at the start of every episode of WCPW Loaded always includes a bit of comedy.
  • Crossover:
    • Several titles from other promotions have been defended at WCPW/Defiant shows:
      • The most important of these is the Ring of Honor World Title, defended by Jay Lethal at WCPW Loaded #2 (against El Ligero, the night of the infamous "Worthy Opponent" speech) and WCPW Built To Destroy (against Noam Dar). The title was also defended at WCPW Loaded #21, this time Adam Cole defeated both El Ligero and Jay Lethal. Finally, Christopher Daniels defended the title at WCPW Bulletproof: Championship Showdown and in an exhibition the day of the English Qualifying Round of the WCPW Pro-Wrestling World Cup, against Adam Cole and Zack Sabre Jr., and El Ligero.
      • The GFW Nexgen Title was defended in a title vs. title match by Cody Rhodes at WCPW Delete WCPW; the other title being the WCPW Internet Title held by El Ligero. As a result of Cody winning the match, he became the Internet Champion.
      • The infamous DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight title appeared at WCPW State of Emergency, where Jack The Jobber got it, only to be defeated by Joey Ryan.
      • The VCW Openweight Title was defended by Buck Gunderson, who defeated Kevin Blackwood at a dark match in the Canadian Qualifying Round of the WCPW Pro-Wrestling World Cup.
    • The promotion's titles were also defended at other promotions, as well:
      • Joseph Conners defended the WCPW World Title at 3CW's 3CW Encore, defeating James Scott.
      • Drew Galloway also defended the Title, in two separate promotions: BCW's BCW No Blood, No Sympathy XIV against Matt Hardy, and BCP's BCP Fight Forever, against Anthony Bowens.
      • Cody Rhodes, on his part, defended the WCPW Internet Title at PWM's PWM Kingdom Come defeating JT Gunn, and Wrestle Pro's WrestlePro in a three way which also involved Lio Rush and Mario Bokara.
      • Gabriel Kidd defended the Internet Title against rosterpal Alex Gracie at SWE's SWE Notorious VII.
      • Zack Sabre Jr. defended the Internet Title against Extreme Tiger at an MDA show.
      • In a three-way crossover, WALTER defended the Internet Title against Matt Cross, at the joint-promotion show Smash x CZW: Toronto.
      • Bea Priestley defended the Defiant Women Title in the Land Down Under in two shows: against Ricky South in PWA's PWA Black Label - Call To Arms 2018 and in a three-way also involving Avary and Indi Hartwell at MCW's MCW 100.
      • And in non-defending appearances, Austin Aries brought the Defiant World Title to some of Impact Wrestling shows.
  • Darkest Hour: Martin Kirby's defeat against Mark Haskins in Defiant #6 ensured IPW's control of Defiant until Chain Reaction.
  • Diabolus ex Machina: David Starr's attack on CCK's Kid Lykos on Defiant #1 turned The Prestigenote  vs. CCK into The Prestige vs. Chris Brookes, with the obvious result.
  • Downer Ending: Defiant #6. IPW succeeds on taking over Defiant after Martin Kirby loses against Mark Haskins.
  • Early-Bird Cameo:
    • Primate appeared in a Joe Coffey promo in WCPW Loaded #1 before his first proper fight at WCPW Loaded #2 against Drake.
    • Stu Bennett was a commentator at the WCPW No Regrets iPPV and Pro Wrestling World Cup '17 - Mexican Qualifying Round before landing the GM role after the name change.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: At the beginning, there was little-to-no star power (Jay Lethal was the closest thing to a superstar), the Whatculture cast was pretty much stealing the spotlight, there were drawn pictures of the wrestlers before the matches, the titantrons and entrances of the wrestlers looked like they were done with Windows Movie Maker, and the videos were uploaded to the What Culture Wrestling channel instead of its own, dedicated channel. Justified though by the fact that as a new company, they simply did not have the resources or name value to do more. One behind-the-scenes video notes that their first show was in a leaky warehouse and someone spotted Jay Lethal sitting in the back looking around with an "Am I really here?" look on his face.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: The IPW invasion comes to an end at Defiant Chain Reaction as Rampage pins Haskins in order to save Defiant and repel the invaders. The fallout ensured the outcome with Stu Bennett using Austin Aries's mistreatment of his teammates to get them to defect to Defiant.
  • Face/Heel Double-Turn:
    • At WCPW Built to Destroy, Rampage turned face against Adam Blampied, refusing to piledrive Big Damo and laying Adam out after Blampied slaps him for disobeying, only to turn around into a low blow and piledriver from Big Damo as he revealed he was Evil All Along and aligned with Adam Blampied.
    • At WCPW Refuse to Lose, Adam Pacitti turned heel after he costs Martin Kirby his title shot against Joseph Connors. In turn, this turns Martin Kirby into an arrogant face.
    • At Defiant Refuse To Lose, the feud between (face) Martin Kirby and (heel) Joe Hendry ended up with Hendry screaming "I Quit!" and Kirby continuous attack of him after the match.
  • Finale Production Upgrade: Their annual event Built to Destroy was considered the biggest event of their own calendar year.
  • Flipping the Bird:
  • Foreshadowing: During his "Weak Links" promo in the fallout of Defiant Chain Reaction, Austin Aries mentions Mark Haskins's weaknesses and ends with "I may have to ask your girl about [your lack of timing]". Come Defiant Refuse To Lose, and said girl, Mark's wife Vicky Haskins, makes her valet debut while accompanying Haskins alongside Jimmy Havoc for his match against the Anti-Fun Police.
  • Garbage Wrestler: The first hardcore match took place at the WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup - Mexican Qualifying Round, where Primate defeated Scott Wainwright. Several months later, due to the amount of matches, the WCPW Hardcore Title was created specifically to cash in them. It is always contested under "No DQ" rules.
  • Gimmick Matches:
    • WCPW Built To Destroy had "Mask vs. Pride" where El Ligero faced a still heel Martin Kirby and had to remove his mask in case of defeat. Kirby, on the other hand, if he lost, had to wear a dress. El Ligero won and put Kirby to sleep in order to dress him.
    • WCPW Delete WCPW had a best 2-out-of-3 where Will Ospreay defeated Martin Kirby, and a steel cage three-way where Drew Galloway defeated Joe Hendry and Joseph Conners. It was also the beginning of the Rampage vs. Primate series of seven matches, each of them with a particular gimmick to showcase their brutality:
      • Match #1 at WCPW Delete WCPW was a Lumberjack match where Primate defeated Rampage.
      • Match #2 at WCPW Loaded #17 was a No Holds Barred match where Rampage defeated Primate.
      • Match #3 at WCPW Lights Out was a Boiler Room Brawl match where Primate defeated Rampage.
      • Match #4 at WCPW Loaded #20 was a Chairs match where Rampage defeated Primate.
      • Match #5 at WCPW True Destiny was an "I Quit" match where Rampage defeated Primate.
      • Match #6 at WCPW Exit Wounds was a Chain match where Rampage closed the series defeating Primate for a total of 4-2.
    • As a closure to the Matt Hardy presence, WCPW Loaded #18 had him and Martin Kirby in a 2-on-3 handicap no-DQ fight where they defeated Bully Ray and the Swords of Essexnote .
    • WCPW True Destiny iPPV featured a four-way tag-team ladder match where the Swords of Essex defeated El Ligero/Gabriel Kidd, Moss x Slater (former champions) and Prospect.
    • WCPW Fight Back had, aside of the hardcore Primate vs. Drake match, a tag-team gauntlet match where Prospect defeated Moss x Slater, Kid Fite/Lou King Sharp, Polo Promotionsnote  and The Kings of The Northnote  in order to become the #1 contenders for the WCPW Tag Team Title, while the WCPW World Title was decided in a Last Man Standing match where Joe Hendry defeated Martin Kirby.
    • WCPW Loaded #30 had a "Falls Count Anywhere" match where Drake defeated Angelico.
    • WCPW Refuse To Lose 2017 had a "Kiss My Arse" match where Martin Kirby defeated Alex Gracie. It was also the beginning of the best 2-out-of-3 series between David Starr and Mike Bailey:
      • Match #1 at WCPW Refuse To Lose 2017 had Bailey defeating Starr.
      • Match #2 at Defiant #WeAreDefiant closed the series with Bailey defeating Starr once more.
    • Defiant #1 had a two-on-one handicap match where The Prestigenote  defeated Chris Brookes.
    • Defiant #6 had a handicap 2-on-1 match between The Prestige (El Ligero & Joe Hendry) against former Prestige member Joe Coffey. Subverted as it turned into a 2-on-2 match with Travis Banks, another former The Prestige member, on board as the Iron Man's teammate.
    • Defiant #7 had a handicap 2-on-1 match where Kay Lee Ray defeated Veda Scott and Little Miss Roxxy.
  • Gondor Calls for Aid:
    • Drake joins Prospect (with a warning to manager James R. Kennedy) after being crushed by Primate in WCPW Loaded #2.
    • Gabriel Kidd starts hanging out with Prince Ameen in WCPW Loaded #2 after his impressive three-way match back in WCPW Loaded #1.
    • David Starr joined The Prestige after both El Ligero and Joe Hendry helped him best former Prestige member Travis Banks at Defiant #1. Afterwards Starr took down Kid Lykos for Prestige-CCK in Defiant #2 and became a full-blown member of the stable.
    • Defiant #9 was originally going to be Team Gibson vs. Team Rampage, as in, Zack Gibson and his two best trainees against Rampage against his two best trainees. What happened instead? Gibson's trainees couldn't make it to the shoe, so he instead found proper replacements in the form of former Prospect members Alex Gracie and Drake.
  • Green-Eyed Monster:
    • The real reason for the IPW invasion upon Defiant, as explained by Mark Haskins to Jimmy Havoc at Defiant #4. IPW has been for a longer time and, while as WCPW, IPW had almost no entrants in the Pro Wrestling World Cup '17, plus as Austin Aries signed a contract with IPW, GM Stu Bennett didn't want to be less and also signed him... an event which first prompted Haskins and Chris Ridgeway's attack on Martin Kirby in Defiant #1 and which ended with the IPW Invasion at Defiant #3.
    Mark Haskins: Hi Jimmy! So you wanna know what's going on? Why is it that we done to your ring? Why is it that we came to your house? Why is it that we come here and beat the holy fuck out of each and everyone of you? It's real simple: Defiant... for lack of a better name, has been around for what, a year? IPW has been around long before this place was even dreamt of, and it will be around when this place has crumbled and burnt to the ground. IPW is a place where some of the best wrestlers in the entire world have come and paved the way for guys like us.
    Jimmy Havoc: I was champion for two years there, as you do know.
    Mark Haskins: You get it, then! You get it! That is a place where guys like you and I, we get our break, we get the chance to step up and step into the ring with some of the best and prove that WE are on their level! Yet Defiant... Defiant has the audacity to run a pro-wrestling world cup and yet not have some of THE best wrestlers in the world and all? What the fuck is up with that?
    And then, to top it all off... Stu Bennett has found out that Austin Aries has signed up a new contract with IPW and he doesn't want it to be exclusive. He wasn't to come here. He was just another former WWE "superstar" to turn up and, what?, bring in another of these braindead idiots to their show?
    This company doesn't care about you! This company doesn't care about the future! And this company doesn't care about the other companies that paved the way! So we made our lot, we stepped up, WE WERE DEFIANT, WE PROVED THAT WE WILL DO WHAT WE WANT! And now that we have your world championship, we will burn this place to the fucking ground!
    • Also the reason of the final feud between Martin Kirby and Joe Hendry. Following Kirby's elimination at the Ringmaster Tournament, Hendry kept taunting him, so the next show, Hendry was received with thunderous "Joe Hendry is a wanker!" boos while a still-face Kirby was received by cheers. Then Kirby proceeded to bury Defiant and Hendry, accusing the former for favouring the latternote  even though the crowd was still at Kirby's sidenote .
  • Hostile Show Takeover: The IPW invasion. It starts with GM Stu Bennett announcing the signing of Austin Aries prior to Defiant #WeAreDefiant and develops during the Defiant episodes up to Defiant #6 where they manage to take control of the entirety of Defiant all the way up to the Defiant Chain Reaction iPPV where they lost control of Defiant.
    • Defiant #WeAreDefiant is the official presentation of Aries to the roster. At the end of the iPPV, Mark Haskins and Chris Ridgeway also debut as Aries's allies, attacking Martin Kirby after the three-way between Kirby, Marty Scurll (c) and Joe Hendry for the Defiant World Title. This show also introduces Travis Banks's companions from CCK, Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes, at Travis Banks vs. El Ligero.
    • Defiant #1 has Aries gaining the Defiant World Title belt from Marty Scurll and taking it with him. This episode also saw the debut of Millie McKenzie in the women's division.
    • Defiant #2 shows Aries defending his title at an IPW event. Also, at the end of Primate & Jimmy Havoc vs. B.T. Gunn & Joe Coffey they're attacked by Haskins and Ridgeway.
    • Defiant #3 has Aries, Ridgeway and Haskins bringing with them Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis), Rob Sharpe and Damian Dunne. They attack the Primate, Jimmy Havoc, B.T. Gunn and Joe Coffey, and tear the stage down.
    • Defiant #4 has the IPW invaders explaining the reason for their actions. At the end they set their sights on the Hardcore championship, but Primate defeats Chris Ridgeway (w/Rob Sharpe and Damian Dunne) and prevents them from doing so. Between these two events, the Prestige angle has Joe Coffey proposing Travis Banks a shot at the Defiant World Title (whose then champion is Aries) on behalf of GM Stu Bennett, and the women's division also see the debut of Xia Brookside.
    • Defiant #5 has the aforementioned title shot:Austin Aries vs. Travis Banks, which was frustrated because El Ligero and Joe Hendry came to interrupt their match and distracted Banks long enough so Aries could pin Banks and retain the title. In this episode Zack Gibson turns on Defiant and joins the IPW side of the invasion.
    • Defiant #6 finally introduces Billy Wood, owner of IPW, who announces the stipulations for the World Title shot of that night: Martin Kirby must defeat Mark Haskins. Should Kirby win, he gets the title shot. Should Haskins win IPW takes control of Defiant. Kirby put on the fight, and refused to submit or be pinned, so Haskins had to get him asleep in order to win the match and let IPW take control of Defiant.
    • Defiant #7 is the first episode with IPW controlling Defiant. There was an announcement of a 5-on-5 Tag Team match between Team IPW and Team Defiant, as well as Austin Aries defending his Defiant World Title against Gabriel Kidd at Defiant #8.
    • Aside of Aries-Kidd, which had the Chain Reaction ads spoiling the obvious result, Defiant #8 started with Martin Kirby taking the ring over requesting a World Title shot. Then he proceeded to beat Damian Dunne and Rob Sharpe before chasing IPW owner Billy Wood.
    • Defiant #9 had Jimmy Havoc and Primate battling for the Defiant Hardcore Title. The two of them then were forced to defend the Tag Team titles against Chris Ridgeway and Mark Haskins. It took Jimmy Havoc bringing an axe to the stage to prompt the rest of the IPW roster to come onto Ridgeway and Haskins's aid, then they proceeded to beat down Primate and Havoc, and then Martin Kirby, BT Gunn and Joe Coffey proceeded to clean up the ring of IPW invaders, leading to a no-contest.
    • Finally, Defiant Chain Reaction had Team IPW losing control of Defiant after Rampage pinned down Mark Haskins.
  • Hijacked by Ganon:
    • The Prestige vs. CCK, at Defiant #2, became The Prestige vs. Chris Brookes after David Starr's attack on Kid Lykos.
    • Martin Kirby vs. Marty Scurll, also at Defiant #2, became Austin Aries vs. Marty Scurll.
    • From Defiant #4 we have Zack Gibson vs. "Flash" Morgan Webster. At the end of the match, he requested a bigger challenge. Cue Rampage Brown's entrance, and his return, kickstarting the feud.
    • The one who answered to the open challenge from Alex Gracie in Defiant #6? Rampage Brown.
    • Also at Defiant #6, originally, Joe Coffey would face The Prestige (El Ligero & Joe Hendry) in a handicap match... which turned into a 2-on-2 tag-team match. Coffey's teammate? Travis Banks.
    • The women's championship at Defiant #7 had a neat surprise for Millie McKenzie, the #1 contender for the Women's title: after defeating Xia Brookside, Bea Priestley returns to the promotion and puts up a fight against her, but McKenzie prevails in the end.
  • Leitmotif: Every member of The Prestige (Drake, El Ligero, Joe Hendry) enters to the ring with the stable's team song, even when fighting at singles.
  • Light-Flicker Teleportation: Two examples at Defiant #1:
    • First at the opening match, David Starr was obliterating Travis Banks with the help of Banks' former Prestige teammates El Ligero and Joe Hendry. Lights then go off, and Banks' teammates Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos from CCK enter the scene in order to help him.
    • Then, during Ameen-Kidd vs. Eaver-Slater, the lights go out and Jurn Simmons appears to frustrate the former team's attempt at victory.
  • Loser Leaves Town:
    • Noam Dar was forced out of WCPW after losing his "I Quit" match against Doug Williams on WCPW Loaded #6.
    • WCPW Loaded #12 had Big Damo's WCPW career ending after losing against Alberto El Patrón.
    • A company vs. company match took place at Defiant Chain Reaction as the cap of the IPW vs. Defiant angle. Five IPW guys (Austin Aries, Mark Haskins, Damian Dunne and Aussie Open) against five Defiant guys (Martin Kirby, Rampage, Primate Travis Banks and BT Gunn). If Team IPW won, Defiant would be out of business; if Team Defiant won, IPW would have to relinquish control of Defiant. Team Defiant won the match, leading to IPW giving back control of Defiant to its owners.
  • MacGuffin: The five titles and the Magnificent Seven briefcase.
  • Mêlée à Trois: Like any other promotion, Defiant features matches between three or more parties. In fact, the very first Youtube match is a three-way, and all of the championships (sans the Hardcore championship) were at one point involved in a three or four way match. Then there's the "Magnificent Seven" ladder match, Defiant's equivalent to Money in the Bank.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: The ads for Defiant No Regrets showed that Austin Aries would still be Defiant World Champion. He would lose the title against Rampage Brown that same day.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Ridgeway and Haskins would have gotten the Tag Team titles out of two weakened Jimmy Havoc and Primate if the rest of the IPW roster wouldn't have intervened at Defiant #9. Granted, though the alternative would have been worse.
  • No-Holds-Barred Contest: Like any other promotion, they have matches under the "no DQ" rule. The Hardcore Championship requires this ruleset, for obvious reasons.
  • Once an Episode: A criticism of the promotion is that every event features at least one disqualification or screw finish. Borders on Running Gag at times.
  • Passing the Torch:
    • Following Rampage Brown capturing the Defiant World Title at Defiant No Regrets, Stu Bennett made a speech where he put over the newly-retired Primate (now going by his name, Jay Melrose) as the new GM of the promotion before leaving his role.
    • With Travis Banks going to compete on the UK Tournament and Zack Sabre Jr. having full-time commitments with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, their Internet Match at Defiant Road to Destruction with WALTER was this. Incidentally, with WALTER going to WWE, his match against Martin Kirby for the same title at Defiant Loaded #4 is also this.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Stu Bennett is this to some extent.
  • The Remnant: The IPW guys involved in the invasion (Mark Haskins, Aussie Open, "No Fun" Damian Dunne and Austin Aries) were still around when Stu Bennett offered them contracts. Since then, Aussie Open won the Tag Team belts, Haskins (on the aftermath of losing his teammate Chris Ridgeway to a Game-Breaking Injury) found a new ally on PROGRESS partner and Defiant Hardcore Champion Jimmy Havoc (fresh of breaking his alliance with Primate) with whom they managed to win said titles, while Dunne entered into a feud with Martin Kirby and was part of the Magnificent Seven Ladder Match at Defiant Lights Out. Then Aries lost the World Title at Defiant No Regrets against Rampage, putting a definitive end to the remnant of the IPW storyline. The latter half of 2018 has Aussie Open and Haskins/Havoc dominating the Tag Team division, Ridgeway coming back to become the #1 contender for the Internet title, and Dunne brought his Power Stable, the Anti Fun Police, to Defiant, managing to successfully recruit gimmick-hating HT Drake to their side. As for "Filthy" Rob Sharpe? No idea.
  • Screw the Rules, I Make Them!:
    • WCPW Loaded #29 had a War Machine Rules match where War Machinenote  defeated Die Jungen Löwenote . WCPW Loaded #31 repeated this stipulation, with WM defeating Angelico/Ricochet.
    • WCPW Loaded #33 had a Havoc Rules where Jimmy Havoc/Primate defeated War Machine for the WCPW Tag Team Title.
  • Self-Insert Fic:
    • What the "Pacitti Club vs. BX" era amounts to.
    • Subverted with Simon Miller's involvement. During the aforementioned era he was the face commentator, with King Ross as the Heenan of the duo. But he debuted as a wrestler almost two and a half years later, at the 30-man rumble at Defiant No Regrets, almost half a year after most of the previous WC staff left WhatCulture and founded Cultaholic and WCPW was rebranded as Defiant.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Martin Kirby told to GM Pacitti in WCPW Loaded #3 that his match against Fake!El Ligero was "the biggest screwjob since Montreal".
      • Another reference to the Screwjob took place at Defiant #9, where Billy Wood lamented Primate preventing Chris Ridgeway leaving with the Defiant Hardcore Title.
    • Perhaps not coincidentally, the IPW invasion in Defiant #3 has shades of The Nexus invasion of Monday Night Raw. Complete with the destruction of the scenery. It also has shades of the infamous InVasion angle. At Defiant #4, Chris Ridgeway challenges Primate to put his Hardcore Title against him. WCW only won the WWF Hardcore title in that angle. This is lampshaded by Stu Bennett himself who noted that he'd "seen this movie play out, starred in it, and it didn't turn out well." as a warning.
  • Squash Match:
    • WCPW Loaded #2 had Primate defeating Drake in 2:33.
    • WCPW Loaded #3 is a Squash Match show: Big Damo crushed Drake in 1:54, Prospect defeated the Mitchell Myers/Ryan Mercer team in 3:08, and El Ligero defeated Martin Kirby in 3:52. The only exception is Primate vs. Joe Coffey, which ended in No Contest... at 5:13.
    • WCPW Loaded #4 had Drake defeating Gabriel Kidd in 2:32.
    • WCPW Loaded #6 had Primate defeating Gabriel Kidd in 3:57.
    • WCPW Loaded #12 had Primate defeating Conner, Joe Biggs, Leon Mercer & Stan Kellett in a 4-on-1 handicap match in 2:11.
    • WCPW Loaded #14 had Kimber Lee defeating Little Miss Roxxy in 1:49.
    • WCPW Loaded #16 had Rampage defeating Drake in 3:28.
    • WCPW Loaded #18 had Nixon Newell defeating Bea Priestley by DQ in 2:20 for the WCPW Women's title.
    • WCPW KirbyMania had Joe Hendry crushing Drake in 1:51.
    • WCPW Lights Out had Bea Priestley winning the three-way between her, Ivelisse Velez and Tessa Blanchard in 3:58.
    • WCPW Loaded #20 had Bea Priestley defeating Little Miss Roxxy in 1:52.
    • The shortest one is Martin Kirby d. Drake at WCPW Loaded #21 in 0:08.
    • WCPW Loaded #23 had Drake defeating Alex Gracie in 2:22.
    • WCPW Exit Wounds had a dark match where Viper defeated Little Miss Roxxy in 4:00.
    • WCPW Bulletproof: Championship Showdown had Rampage defeating Drake in 1:24.
    • WCPW State of Emergency had Joe Hendry defeating Matt Striker in 2:26.
    • WCPW Loaded #29 had Joe Coffey defeating Prince Ameen in 1:15.
    • WCPW Loaded #31 had Bad Bones defeating Prince Ameen in 3:31.
    • WCPW Loaded #34 - The Last Ever Loaded had Alex Gracie defeating Liam Slater in 2:58.
    • Defiant #1 had Millie McKenzie defeating Little Miss Roxxy in 2:26.
    • Defiant #2 had Jurn Simmons defeating Alex Dunne in 1:40.
    • Defiant #11 had Primate defeating a gloating Zack Gibson in 0:10.
  • Storming the Castle: The IPW invasion on Defiant #3.
  • Take That, Audience!: An epic one courtesy of Zack Gibson at Defiant #3:
    "I'm looking 'round the room and I'm seeing a lot of Bullet Club tops. A lot of Bullet Club tops from a room full of people who are absolutely blaggin' that they watch New Japan. Absolutely blaggin that you subscribe to New Japan. There are only two subscriptions on your bank statemets: the WWE Network and Pornhub Premium. (*heat*) Don't laugh, don't patronize me. Listen! Just because after every match you send your 5-star ratings to Big Dave... it does not make you smart. Just because when this div here is doing his intros you shout 'One Fall!'... it does not make you smart. What it makes you... is a large collection of absolutely bellends. You. You are the problem with wrestling. You are the ones pushing this great industry further, and further, into a niche market. And I, Liverpool's Number One, Zack Gibson, am the one who is going to take it back to the mainstream, where we belong!"
  • To Be a Master: Austin Aries came to Defiant for one thing, and one thing only: to be the champion. Turns out to be a ruse.
  • Tournament Arc:
    • The "Adam Pacitti Tag-Team Tournament", an 8-team tournament which started on WCPW Loaded #13 with Prospect vs. Los Perspectiva and lasted until WCPW Delete WCPW, where Moss x Slater defeated The Coffey Brothersnote .
    • The "Pro Wrestling World Cup '17", reuniting 64 of the best wrestlers from all around the world, which spans from WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup - English Qualifying Round (March 21, 2017) all the way up to WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup - Day 3 (August 26, 2017) where KUSHIDA defeated Will Ospreay.
    • The "Ringmaster" tournament, a King of the Ring-style tournament whose winner (John "Bad Bones" Klinger) got a shot at the World Title.
  • Trailers Always Spoil:
    • Plenty regarding the ads for Defiant Chain Reaction such as Austin Aries, Defiant World Champion (spoiling his victory over Travis Banks at Defiant #5 where said ad debuted, and his victory over Gabriel Kidd at Defiant #8); Kay Lee Ray, Defiant Women Champion (spoiling her defense of the title against Veda Scott and Little Miss Roxxy at Defiant #8); Millie McKenzie appearing as the #1 Contender (spoiling her victory over Xia Brookside and Bea Priestley at Defiant #7) and Zack Gibson vs. Rampage (spoiling Team Rampage's victory over Team Gibson (Zack Gibson + Prospect), which in case of the latter's victory would have turned into a 3-on-1 handicap match at Defiant #9).
  • Trojan Horse: The real reason why Austin Aries signed up with Defiant. In Defiant #4 it's revealed that Stu Bennett signed up a contract with Aries after he signed up with IPW, so the IPW invaders sent Aries in order to get the Defiant World Title so it cannot go back to Defiant.
  • True Companions:
    • The IPW invaders never left their promotionmates alone. At singles matches, every IPW wrestler had at least two of them accompanying the competitor. All of this came to an end at the fallout to Defiant Chain Reaction, courtesy of Austin Aries.
    • Although they're a heel stable, The Prestige have deep respect for each other. This also includes David Starr. It helps that Joe Hendry and El Ligero started in WCPW as babyfaces. Then Hendry's betrayal of Starr at Defiant Chain Reaction happened.
  • Twin Switch: At WCPW Loaded #3, Martin Kirby fought against a... "weak"/fake... version of El Ligero as part of their feud (This weak/fake version would later be presented as Fat Ligero). At one point near the end of the match, the real deal appeared while Kirby was distracted and switched places. Then when Kirby went back to the match, he failed to notice the difference and fell to the pin.
    Martin Kirby: It is the greatest screwjob since Montreal!
  • Ur-Example:
    • Big Damo is the first WCPW World Champion.
    • [[Characters/WWENXT Nixon Newell]] is the first WCPW Women's Champion.
    • El Ligero is the first WCPW Internet Champion.
    • Moss x Slater (Johnny Moss/Liam Slater) are the first WCPW Tag Team Champions.
    • Primate is the first WCPW Hardcore Champion.
    • Kushida is the first winner of the Pro Wrestling World Cup.
  • Welcome Back, Traitor: In spite of him being in league with IPW, Zack Gibson is still with Defiant, possibly because his involvement in the feud with Rampage prevented him from taking an active part on the IPW team's screwing of Defiant. It didn't mean that he wasn't punished, though: he was squashed by Primate at Defiant #11 and thus didn't got to be part of the "Magnificent Seven" match.
  • Wham Episode:
    • The revelation that the What Culture Wrestling team would be producing their own wrestling promotion, WCPW.
    • WCPW Loaded #18. Martin Kirby replaced Pacitti as WCPW General Manager.
    • Defiant #3. Austin Aries is in league with IPW.
    • Defiant #6. IPW takes over until Chain Reaction.
    • Defiant #11. Christopher Daniels is the seventh entrant into the "Magnificent Seven" match.
  • Wham Line:
    • Pacitti had a mixed night on WCPW Loaded, and it seemed to be getting worse, until...
    Pacitti: Jay Lethal has had to pull out... he will no longer be in the match for the Internet Title. However, I have booked a replacement. This man! (Cue Alberto El Patron's music)
    • Also this at Defiant #7:
    Billy Wood (IPW owner): IPW runs Defiant now.
  • Worthy Opponent:
    • At WCPW Loaded #2 Jay Lethal and El Ligero had a match for the Ring of Honor world title, played with ROH rules, which got interrupted by then-heel Martin Kirby, leading the match to a no-contest. Due to how much Lethal enjoyed the match, he promised El Ligero a shot at the ROH World Title as long as he was the champion.
    • Defiant #8 had Austin Aries recognizing Gabriel Kidd as one after he defeated him. The original idea was to humilliate Kidd, but Kidd managed to put up a fight and actually forced Aries to go all-in in order to keep his title. After the match, he shook Kidd's hand as a sign of respect.
"I am Defiant!" (Various)
"I am... the Villain"

Alternative Title(s): Whatculture Pro Wrestling

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